DuPage County Divorce Attorney

Divorce legally ends a marriage, which means that couples who decide to dissolve their marriages are required to grapple with a variety of related, and often complicated, issues. For instance, couples who have children will need to provide the court with a parenting plan that includes a time-sharing arrangement. Even couples without children will still need to decide who will retain what property after the divorce is finalized and whether one party should pay alimony to the other. Resolving these types of issues can be complicated, even when the parties have a relatively amicable relationship, so if you and your spouse are considering filing for divorce, it is important to speak with an experienced DuPage County divorce attorney who can walk you through the process.

Contested vs. Uncontested Divorce

There are two basic forms of divorce in Illinois – contested and uncontested divorce. The former refers to divorces in which the couple disagrees about one or more of the following issues:

• Property division, including who will retain the family home;
• The division of time sharing and decision making responsibilities;
• Whether either party will be required to pay child support and in what amount; and
• Whether one party will be required to pay spousal maintenance and for how long.

Uncontested divorces, on the other hand, are those in which both spouses agree on all divorce-related issues. Even in these cases, a judge will only grant a divorce after reviewing and approving the agreement negotiated by the parties, which must be reasonable. In the event that only one spouse files for divorce and the other spouse does not submit a reply, the court will assume that the divorce is uncontested and the case will proceed without the other party’s input.

Regardless of whether a divorce is contested or uncontested, the parties must fulfill certain filing requirements before the marriage can be dissolved. For instance, one spouse must have lived in Illinois for at least three months before he or she will be eligible to file for divorce in Illinois.

Property Division and Other Divorce-Related Legal Issues

Couples who decide to get married in Illinois are required to grapple with a series of complicated legal issues, such as property division. Illinois is an equitable division state, which means that all of a couple’s marital property must be divided equitably upon divorce. However, before this can happen, the parties will need to account for and have all of their assets appraised. This includes not only marital assets, or property that was obtained during the marriage, but also separate property, which includes assets that were acquired before the marriage took place. The latter will usually remain the sole property of the original owner, unless there is evidence of commingling, in which case, the separate assets may also need to be divided.

In many cases, couples are able to come to out-of-court agreements on issues related to property division, child support, alimony, and the division of parenting time. As long as the agreement is approved, the court can grant a couple’s divorce. If, on the other hand, a couple cannot come to an agreement, the court will be required to step in and divide the couple’s assets on their behalf.

Call Today for a Free Consultation

Please call 847-255-9925 today to speak with one of the experienced and compassionate DuPage County divorce attorneys at the SAM LAW OFFICE LLC about your divorce-related questions and concerns.